Sea wall to save village from waves

A section of Faza village on Pate Island. Ngomeni residents feel that a sea wall such as the one erected here would be more effective in shielding their village from strong sea waves. Photo/FILE

Ngomeni villagers have joined hands in building a sea wall to protect themselves from strong waves.

The work they were contracted to do involves digging trenches and filling them with stones.

Although they initially raised questions over the stability and effectiveness of the wall in dealing with the waves, they are now optimistic their suffering will be mitigated, at least in the short term.

Over the years, the coastal village, 160 kilometres north of Mombasa town and 20 kilometres from Malindi town, has been battling with the effects of rising sea levels.

There has been massive destruction, posing a threat to the small fishing hamlet. Several houses, offices and the graveyard have been destroyed by strong currents.

It is common for the villagers to spend sleepless nights, trying to salvage their household items or save their lives when Mother Nature strikes.

The huge trees that have been uprooted at the expansive beach where fishermen and buyers converge to do business are evidence of the destruction.

But fishermen say the biggest blow to them was a fish market that was brought down. The only trace of the market is a protrusion of what used to be a slab.

Standing next to where the market used to be a few years ago, a fish buyer, Mr Omar Ali, said the destruction forced them to raise more than Sh1 million to build another market far away from the beach.

“What you are seeing now are the effects of many years of massive erosion from the strong waves; they eat away the beach and adjoining land.

A Kenya Navy base was also destroyed and they had to move further up but even at the new site, the sea is slowly eating away the sand dunes.

“Several hotels, too, had to close shop because of the high cost of preventing the effects of the rising sea levels,” he said.

Mr Abu Ali Masoud and Mr Mohamed Omar Madi, who are leading a group of casual workers on the sea wall project that is being funded by the Italian Government and with technical support from the Coast Development Authority (CDA) have raised queries over the work.

“We are not happy with the manner in which the wall is being erected because the stones are just left loose and these could end up in the hands of thieves, especially at night.

“We were expecting a sea wall similar to the one in Kizingitini, Lamu, where cement and sand are applied to make it firmer.

“That is what we were expecting so that the headache of running up and down every time the sea rises is forgotten for good but with this wall, it will be the same old story,” said Mr Masoud.

Some residents blame the problem on the salt firms located a few kilometres north of Ngomeni for blocking the water from flowing freely in the ocean.

“The salt pans that have been built all over the place and the destruction of mangroves to create land for the pans is the main cause of our predicament this end,” said Mr Masoud.

While the residents complain about the wall and the poor pay for the strenuous work, engineers who are overseeing the project say the villagers should have every reason to be happy and count their blessings for the project.

CDA manager in charge of engineering services Wainaina Mburu said the way the wall was being put up was the best for the area.

“What they are seeing now is the first layer, which is called a filter, but after that much bigger blocks will be used and nobody will be able to tamper with them.

“This style is the most natural one because the filter helps to prevent the sand from being washed away or wasted. It is environmentally friendly and easy to maintain because it will not require any cement for repairs,” said Mr Mburu.

He said the type of wall being erected in Ngomeni, an area that is prone to flooding due to strong waves and high tides, is the best and can last for more than 100 years without any additional costs of maintenance.

He said the wall would cover about 750 metres and will adequately help in blocking the waves, thereby protect the village from further destruction once completed in three months.

He said there was always a danger in erecting walls on the beach, adding that it was important for any construction to be friendly to the environment instead of degrading it.

In the case of Ngomeni, the engineer said, the type of wall being put up would allow the growth of vegetation in the area.

“We are calling on the residents not to have any worries about the wall as it has more advantages than the vertical ones that are common in other parts of the Kenyan coast.

“We have come up with technology that will allow colonisation of marine life, including the breeding of fish.

“What we encourage the communities to do as a long-term measure that will also boost the efficacy of the wall is to plant more mangroves to fill up the degraded areas because these forests act as natural barriers against strong waves that have been finding their way into the village and destroying homes and other property,” Mr Mburu said.

And taking a cue from conservation organisations, members of the community have started a campaign to plant mangroves in areas where there was massive destruction to help in reducing the impact of the sea waves.

Mr Daudi Abdalla, a village elder in Ngomeni, is leading the campaign to plant mangroves in the area. He said they were expecting youths to support them through the government-funded Kazi kwa Vijana initiative.